Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own anything.
A/N: This is it. The grand finale.
Clarke walked out of the lift on the level where Lexa had assembled everyone. She noticed that the guards are on their knees in the watchful eyes of the grounders, President Dante and Cage are held by the grounders. Cage was struggling, but the grounder had a tight grip on him. The Ark council stood separately surrounded by guards, who didn't feel the need to crowd them.
The civilians, both Ark survivors and Mount Weather alike were observing what was happening. Clarke noticed that the delinquents have joined their families amongst the Ark survivors. She smiled at Raven who had arrived at the mountain after her mission was completed. Gustus was standing behind Lexa, staring at anyone who may threaten her.
Lexa, noticing Clarke's arrival moved quickly to her.
"How's Bellamy?" She asked, showing her well-hidden emotions. The victory must have weakened her resolve.
"Stable. He lost a lot of blood and unconscious. But I'm expecting him to make a full recovery." Clarke informed, happy to share the good news. Lexa nodded, satisfied.
"Your mother?" She asked, noticing Abby's absence.
"She went back to look after Kane." Clarke informed her. Lexa accepted that answer. She had no quarrel with Abby.
With the greetings done, Lexa turned to the army in front of her.
"This is a glorious day. The mountain has fallen as promised. They will not attack us anymore. We will not have to lose our father, our mother, our brother, our sister or any of our kin to them again." Lexa declared. A loud cheer went through the grounders.
She turned to address President Dante and Cage.
"You have caused a lot of pain and misery for my people." She accused them.
"We did what we had to, in order to survive." Dante replied back politically. It was an admission covered with justification for their actions.
"You survived in the blood of my people. What makes you more worthy to live than us?" Lexa growled.
"You're a bunch of savages. Animals. The ground belongs to us. Not you." Cage spit at Lexa in anger. Gustus stepped forward and backhanded Cage hard in the face.
"You kidnap us, prison us, steal our blood until we are dead, and then you call us savages?" Lexa asked mockingly.
She stepped back without waiting for an answer.
"For your crimes, you will be punished. The punishment will fit your crime. You will die. But not immediately. You will feel the pain of my people before you die." She ordered. The grounders holding President Dante and Cage pulled them away to the exit door against their protests and cries.
She turned to the guards kneeling on the ground.
"Sky people." She addressed the Ark soldiers. "You joined a fight that you had no idea what was happening. However, you showed wisdom and surrendered than fight, when you were told to." She pointed out.
"I'm going to forgive your indiscretion. You can go join your people." She ordered. A lot of "thank you" were shouted from the Ark survivors for her decision.
"All except the two called Pike and Finn." She said before the Ark soldiers dispersed. Everyone froze in their place.
"I need Pike and Finn to step forward." She commanded. After a moment of hesitation, Pike stepped forward, followed by Finn.
Lexa turned to look at Clarke. Clarke stepped forward to stand next to Lexa.
"You two stand accused of massacring a village. What do you say in your defence?" Lexa demanded to know their side.
"We went in search of our people. They attacked us and we retaliated." Charles Pike justified his actions.
"Are you telling me, a village of elders, women who can't march into battle, and children posed a threat and attacked a weapon carrying army? With what? Pots and pans?" Lexa mocked them.
A loud murmur went through the Ark people at that question. Clarke realized that they didn't know the full extent of the attack.
"We questioned them. They should have told us where our people were. Instead, they resisted." Finn argued.
"They didn't know." Clarke informed Finn. "We were taken to TonDC where all the tree clan warriors had gathered together. Those who can't travel had stayed behind. They didn't know anything about us." She explained.
"We were told that they were hiding you in the village." Finn justified why they went to the village.
"Who told you that?" Lexa asked, confused.
"From a grounder we captured." Pike told Lexa.
"And how did you retrieve that information?" Lexa prodded further.
Pike hesitated to answer, but seeing that he can't get away without answering, he confessed. "We tortured him."
Clarke gasped in shock. Lexa didn't seem surprised.
"So, you tortured a random grounder and he said that your people were in the village? How did you speak Trigedasleng?" She asked further.
"We didn't. He pointed us in that direction and we followed it and found the village." Pike said.
"Then, you had no actual information, you went guns waving and terrified the innocent villages and massacred them when they didn't tell you the information you wanted?" Lexa mocked them for their stupid actions.
"If your people didn't attack us or take our people prisoners, we wouldn't have come searching for you." Finn yelled back when he realized that he was being embarrassed in front of everyone and made to look like a fool.
"We didn't attack you. We came to protect you. And we made Clarke and her people as part of our coalition. They became their own clan and have been enjoying our hospitality. You on the other hand don't belong there."
Having heard enough, Lexa stood up straight.
"You will be punished for your crimes against the village massacre. Our law demands that blood must have blood. Those who lost their kin by your actions demand retribution." She ordered.
"Lexa, please." Clarke stepped in. Lexa turn to her.
"I know what they did is cruel. Killing them won't bring their victims back." Clarke pleaded.
"I can't let them go without punishment." Lexa argued.
"Don't. But don't kill them." Clarke requested. Lexa looked at her for a moment.
"You will be given one hundred lashes for every victim. Then you are banished from our lands. You will not be given sanctuary by anyone in our lands. If anyone is found guilty of helping you, they will suffer the same punishment." She changed her order.
"You can't do this. Our people will not stand for this." Charles Pike yelled out loud. He looked at the Ark soldiers and saw them turn away from him. They were ashamed at his actions. He turned to see the council and the civilians shying away from them. He realized he was alone in his struggle.
"They can choose to either get banished with you or be with the rest of their people." Lexa said casually. She wasn't concerned either way.
"Thelonious, please." Pike made a last effort to beg Chancellor Jaha to overrule Lexa's decision.
"You made your bed Charles. Now you have to lie in it." Jaha said, not willing to say anything against. He was shaken by the reveal.
"Come on, Clarke. You know me. You know I did it for you." Finn begged Clarke.
"I don't know you, Finn. And you don't know me. If you think I'd be ok with what you did, you never did." Clarke answered him.
"Where can we go?" Finn asked, hopelessness evidence in his voice.
"If you go further south, you will come across a desert. Those who don't belong to any clan survive there or beyond. You can find a way to survive, if you have the will. If not, then you will feel what your victims felt. Helplessness." Lexa said.
"My people will make sure you are out of the borders of our coalition." Lexa signalled to the grounders who pulled Pike and Finn by their arms.
Lexa turn to the Ark council.
"You will vacate the mountain immediately. You can take up residence in the land surrounding the mountain. It's forbidden for my people. You can make your home here. The mountain will not be occupied." She told them.
"Thank you. That's very kind of you." Chancellor Jaha thanked Lexa. He didn't expect to be shown mercy.
"What about us?" One of the Mount Weather civilians asked out loud. Lexa turned her attention to them.
"All of you have blood on your hands. You are surviving because of my people. That stops now. None of you are innocent victims." She told them.
"You're right." One of the civilians agreed. Clarke looked at a man standing with his daughter in front.
"Maya?" Clarke asked, unsure. The girl nodded, feeling scared.
Lexa noticing their interaction turned to the man who spoke.
"However, I was told that not all of you agreed with the methods of your administration's way of surviving. You are either forced or unwilling participants in your way of life. That makes it difficult for me to punish you all." Lexa told him.
"We should have done more." The man, now identified as Vincent confessed.
"You should have. I'm willing to look past it. But I'm at an impasse." She told him.
"If I may, can I offer a suggestion?" Chancellor Jaha stepped forward. Lexa turned to look at him.
"Speak." She told him.
"Abby told me that she had found a cure for their radiation sickness. The cure is from my people. Our bone marrow provides them what they need to survive in the ground." Chancellor Jaha told everyone.
"I know of this. I was told that Bellamy was forced to undergo this procedure unwillingly." Lexa replied.
"But now that we know what needs to be done, we can take safety precautions to minimize any risk." Clarke added to the discussion.
"Our people have been living with the locals. We have become friendly and even created relationships. I'm sure we will have volunteers who can donate their bone marrow to those who need it." Jaha suggested.
"That's very generous of you and your people." Lexa said, surprised.
"We can't ask you to do that." Vincent said, concerned. He didn't want them to feel obligated.
"You aren't asking. I will volunteer. And I'm sure others will too." Jaha assured him.
"We can restart the generator to power up the mountain to keep everyone safe until the transplant is completed." Clarke informed. She looked at Raven who nodded in agreement.
"When power is back, my people will be treated first." Lexa told everyone. Nobody disagreed with her.
"My mother and I can handle the transplant operations." Clarke volunteered.
"I'll help too." Another voice offered. Clarke turn to see her mother's assistant stepping up forward.
"Get it done quickly." Lexa ordered. Clarke turned to give Raven her instructions.
"Any valuables that is stored in the mountain will be distributed to the clans in equal share as compensation for their suffering." Lexa ordered in general.
With lives at risk, valuables didn't mean much.
"Once you are cured, you can make your settlement with the sky people in the mountain lands." Lexa told Mount Weather civilians.
She turned to both Mount Weather people and Sky survivors.
"Clarke and her people are part of the thirteenth clan. You are not. You are confined to the mountains. Anything you need outside the mountain; you communicate to Clarke who will evaluate and pass it to us. When you gain our trust, we can revisit the boundaries. This is non-negotiable." She informed them of her rules.
There were some murmurs around, but they didn't object to her. They knew they had no grounds to bargain from. The commander had full control over the decisions to be made after victory.
The lift opened again and Octavia stepped out. She took in the scene, before she rushed to Clarke.
Clarke having finished her conversation with Raven, saw Octavia approach her. She instantly became alert.
"What's wrong?" She asked in a panic.
Octavia came to a sudden stop in front of Clarke. "Nothing's wrong. Bellamy's awake." She informed Clarke.
Clarke took off immediately with Octavia following her. She got inside the lift and pressed level three button quickly.
The lift was moving way too slow for Clarke's impatience. She kept tapping her feet in nervous energy.
Once the lift door opened, Clarke rushed outside quickly. She reached the medical bay in an instant.
She saw Bellamy talking to Lincoln. Seeing Clarke, Lincoln stepped aside. Bellamy's eyes focused on Clarke.
"Hey you." He said and smiled weakly.
"Hi." Clarke replied back in awe, still not believing it's real.
"I heard we won the war." Bellamy smiled.
"Yeah. You almost died though." Clarke said, still haunted by what she saw.
"I didn't." Bellamy replied and to prove it, he started to get up from the bed. Clarke went to his side in a flash, holding him down in place.
"You're in no condition to move. Bed rest for at least two days. Your body needs to generate the blood it lost." She admonished him.
Bellamy smiled in return. He enjoyed it when Clarke became bossy in her doctor mode.
"So, what's going on?" Bellamy asked Clarke. He wanted to know what was happening.
Clarke spent the rest of the time, telling him everything she found out and Lexa's decisions. Indra and Lincoln stepped out of the lab to give them some privacy. Octavia reluctantly followed, once assured that her brother was not in danger.
Once she relayed everything, exhaustion caught her. The lack of sleep from before and the excitement and aftermath of the battle took its toll on her.
Bellamy noticing her yawn, scooted in the bed to make room for her. Clarke shook her head in protest.
"You need to sleep. I'll be fine." She told him, even if she couldn't stifle the next yawn.
"Just shut up and get here." Bellamy ordered. Clarke reluctantly got in the bed. She tried not to take up space, but Bellamy wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
"One thing that this experience taught me is that I shouldn't waste any chance. There may not be another." He told her.
"What are you talking about?" Clarke asked, not understanding.
"This." And with that, he pulled her close and kissed her fully on the lips.
Clarke's brain, foggy from the sleep took a second to realize what was happening. But once it did, she became wide alert. She stared wide eyed at Bellamy when he pulled back to look at her.
"I've been wanting to do that for a long while." He confessed.
Clarke couldn't hide the smile that spilled all over her face. She responded by pulling his head back to her, reconnecting their lips.
- 100 -
The next week was busy for everyone. Raven with the help of some of the engineers in the mountain brought the turbines back in working order. Once power was restored, Abby and Clarke with assistance from and other volunteers from the Mount Weather civilians treated all the injuries the grounder prisoners sustained. The prisoners didn't trust the doctors, but Lexa assured them and stayed in the mountain to give them confidence. Once the grounders saw that the doctors were healing and not hurting, they were less suspicious of the motivations.
As Lexa ordered, the Ark survivors moved out of the mountain and started to create their settlement around Alpha station. They called it Arkadia in remembrance of the Ark. A few of the delinquents decided to stay with their parents at Arkadia, while the rest wanted to get back to their camp. It was their home and they wanted to live independent to Arkadia. They didn't want to be governed by the same system they grew up in.
When the grounders were all treated and healthy enough to travel back to their clans, Lexa prepared to leave with her guards. Clarke went to send her off.
"When you are done with your medical work, you should come to Polis. Our capital city. It will change the way you think about us." Lexa promised.
Clarke could tell the underlying meaning behind it. "I can't." She refused politely.
"Your clan need an ambassador in the capital. You should be the one to take up that position. You're a natural leader Clarke. You belong there with me." Lexa pushed further.
Clarke turned her head and looked in the direction of Bellamy. He was helping people move their belongings from the mountain for their journey to Arkadia.
"I belong with my people." She told Lexa and turned around. Lexa looked in the direction Clarke was looking and understood the meaning. She was disappointed.
"But you're right. We need an ambassador in the capital. But it's not me you want. It's Octavia." Clarke told Lexa.
"Bellamy's sister?" Lexa was confused.
"She has integrated herself with your people more than any of us. She knows your customs and she feel at home with your people. And she has a strong head to not sway to anyone intimidate her. I'm sure Lincoln will join her." Clarke explained. She felt that was the best fit for all.
Lexa nodded in understanding. "Tell her to ride to Polis when she is ready." She told Clarke and mounted her horse.
Clarke watched Lexa leave with her guards and walked back into the mountain. There were more transplants to be done for the day.
Mount Weather civilians underwent their transplant surgeries, from youngest to the oldest. As Jaha predicted, many of the Ark survivors volunteered as donors. Bellamy wanted to volunteer as well, because he felt he owed them after they helped him survive in the mountain alone. But Abby and Clarke refused to do it. Vincent told him that Bellamy has done more than enough to save not only those who helped him, but the rest of the civilians in the mountain. Bellamy had to reluctantly agree.
Abby had managed to pull herself up and kept herself busy with the medical issues. She still struggled with her addiction. But having Clarke working with her and healing people helped. Clarke and Abby had a heart to heart that was long overdue. They talked about everything that created the rift between them. Clarke was more sympathetic to her mother who was suffering from the life she created for herself. Clarke decided to forgive her mother for her shortcomings and bad decisions. Abby was able to get better after her relationship with Clarke mended. Unfortunately, even with all the healing, she couldn't do much for Markus Kane.
Kane, having lost more bone marrow extraction to provide for both President Dante and Cage suffered paralysis from waist down. Raven helped him with mechanical braces to support his lower body to help him move. But he wasn't able to move as he used to before.
As for governing, Chancellor Jaha resigned from his position as Chancellor. Infact, all the council members gave up their positions. Abby was offered the Chancellor position which she declined. She wanted to focus on being the medical professional instead. Everyone agreed that Kane was the rightful Chancellor and he is the one who could build relations with the grounders and create peace with the coalition.
The new council consisted of young and old members, including Nathan Miller's father, and Monty's parents. They all worked together to build the settlement.
Once everyone was treated, they joined the settlement of Arkadia and created their own community.
When everyone had moved out and Mount Weather was salvaged for anything worth taking, Raven triggered the self-destruction sequence in the control centre. It was what they promised Lexa they would do when Raven discovered it.
Bellamy and Clarke stood next to one another, hugging each other close as they watch the mountain explode from a distance. The others were watching the fireworks as well as the mountain collapsed on itself.
It wasn't a secret that Bellamy and Clarke became a couple. People started noticing when they were together at meal times and they shared a room together temporarily during their stay in Mount Weather. Clarke was smiling a lot more and Bellamy was relaxed as he had ever been. Octavia noticed it first and she pointed it to Raven who in turn told Jasper. That ended up spreading like wildfire to everyone. Bellamy and Clarke didn't see the point in denying and they confirmed it to their friends. There was a wild celebration that night, with adults confused at the cause for the celebration. Abby knew and she was happy for her daughter.
- 100 -
One night, Bellamy and Clarke were lying in their bed. Bellamy absentmindedly running his finger on Clarke's skin that tickled her. She opened her eyes and looked at him lost in his thoughts.
"You look deep in your thoughts." She commented lazily.
Bellamy, snapping out from his head space, looked at her.
"There's something I need to tell you." He told her. Clarke snapped wide awake. The tone in his voice told her it was serious. He sounded troubled by something.
"What is it Bellamy?" She asked, concerned.
"During the escape, I did something to the doctor who experimented on me." He confessed. Clarke had seen the body in one of the med bays. She didn't know who it was and who did it. But now that Bellamy said it, she was able to connect the dots.
"She experimented on you and many others like you. You can't lose sleep over what you did to her in revenge." Clarke comforted him. She didn't want him suffer for it.
"It's part of it. I was so enraged at that moment, that I lost myself." He told her. "I never want to feel that way again." He was terrified of that part of himself.
"You won't. You don't need to feel that kind of rage again." Clarke hugged him and assured him.
"It's not just what she did that triggered me. It's what she said." He said, hesitant to reveal more. Clarke looked confused. He felt that he could open up to her and reveal more of himself.
"She told me that when she was running my DNA, she found a familial match in the Ark survivors." He confessed.
"Familial? You have another sibling?" Clarke asked, not understanding.
"Not sibling. My father. He's one of the Ark survivors." He clarified.
"Oh." Clarke was surprised. Bellamy never spoke about his father. From what she was able to gather from Octavia and snippets from Bellamy, he never knew him. Neither of the Blake siblings did. His mother raised them both.
"If she ran a DNA scan, the results should be there in the system. We can find out who it is tomorrow." Clarke assured him.
Bellamy pulled away and sat on the bed. Clarke was surprised at his reaction. She thought she was comforting him, but it had the opposite reaction.
"I already know who it is." Bellamy told her, anger spilling in his words.
Clarke sat shocked, waiting for Bellamy to continue. She knew he needed to let it all out.
"It's Thelonious Jaha. He's my father." Bellamy revealed the secret he found out.
"Jaha?" Clarke said bewildered. "That means you and Wells are…" She paused, unable to finish her sentence.
"Half-brothers." Bellamy laughed at the irony.
Clarke tried to comprehend what she had just learned. Wells, the boy she grew up with, the father he adored had another family. A family that lived in the lower levels. It was incomprehensible.
But now that she thought about it, she could see some similarities between Bellamy and Wells. Headstrong, natural leaders with charisma. She wished they both had the chance to have learned the truth.
"What do you want to do?" Clarke asked Bellamy.
Bellamy laughed. "What to do? He's been absent all my life. Knowing the truth now is not going to change that. I've become who I am because of my mother and Octavia. He had no part in it." He told Clarke.
Clarke squeezed Bellamy's shoulder in comfort.
"You've become a great man on your own Bellamy. Never doubt that." She told him. He may not see it, but she did.
"I'm conflicted on whether I should tell Octavia. She may be his too." He said helplessly. He didn't want to share his sister with another family member. But was he preventing her from knowing her father? It's what kept him up at night.
"You should give her the choice. Talk to her. She knows what she wants." Clarke advised him.
Bellamy took a moment to ponder Clarke's advice. It sounded like the right path to take. With decision made, he curled up in the bed again. Clarke hugged him close, wrapping her arms around him.
Next morning, Bellamy pulled Octavia from her duties for a quiet talk.
"What's up big brother?" Octavia asked, chirpy. She has been excited ever since she found out that she will be the ambassador for the thirteenth clan and be part of the court in the capital city. She couldn't wait to go there and accept her duties.
"What will you want to do if someone came and told you that they know who your father is and they can take you to him? Would you want to go and meet him?" Bellamy asked, getting straight to the point.
"What the heck Bell?" Octavia exclaimed. Never would she have predicted Bellamy to ask that question.
"Tell me the truth O." Bellamy pleaded. Octavia saw that he was serious, decided to answer him.
"You're my family Bell. Only you. Mom was not around when I grew up. It was you who took care of me. You have been my father, my mother, my brother and my guardian all my life. If someone comes and tells me they know who my father is, I will tell them I already know. It's you." She said, choking up in tears.
Bellamy with tears in his eyes pulled Octavia close and hugged her tight.
"You're my entire life O. You always will be." He promised her.
"Good. Now that we're done with the mushy stuff, tell me what brought this on." She demanded to know, going back to her playfulness.
Bellamy chuckled, still tears rolling down his face. "Someone said they knew who my father was. I decided against finding out. Wanted to see if you would want to." He told her part of the truth.
"Well, tell them to go to hell. Our family is complete." She told him.
"Already did." He assured her and hugged her once again before moving ahead.
- 100 -
The delinquents returned back to their dropship camp. They felt most at home there. Trikru offered to lend their assistance in building the settlement around the dropship. They cleaned up the place from all the fire damage and bodies. Once they were done, they built huts and houses around the dropship. Dropship will be the townhall for meetings and other important events.
Bellamy and Clarke were naturally selected as the leaders for their clan. Clarke refused it at first, but upon further persuasion, she accepted it.
Murphy and Bellamy mended their problems and became fast friends. They both had shared experiences and actions taken that plagued them. They were able to help one another move on from their nightmares.
Miller had become close with , having worked with transporting the patients to and from the medical lab. Miller's father who had got to know from the council encouraged his son to seek a relationship with the good doctor. It was slow at first, but it gradually moved to a serious relationship between them.
Jasper and Maya were already smitten at one another. After the war ended, they immediately started a relationship. Monty became the third wheel in their relationship. But they didn't mind.
Monty didn't remain alone though. His trips in search of herbs to help the doctors treat their patients required constant roaming in the forest. Even when there's no grounder or reaper threat, it didn't mean there were no dangers in the forest from wild animals and others. Bellamy always made sure that Monty had a companion to go with him. His regular companion turned out to be Harper and Monty built a crush on her.
Bellamy and Jasper encouraged Monty to take the leap, pushing the shy companion towards Harper. Clarke and Raven left subtle hints for Harper about Monty's interest. It all worked out in the end after a night of drunken partying led to Monty finding the courage and Harper willing to take the risk. A night of passion showed them that they were good for each other and they remained as a couple since then.
Raven was struggling to let herself become vulnerable. After Finn, she had closed herself for all relationships. But during the salvage of Mount Weather, she kept clashing with her old frenemy from Ark station, Kyle Wick. He frustrated her and pissed her off beyond comprehension. She regularly came to Clarke and Bellamy and complain about Wick. Clarke and Bellamy knew where it will end up and they even had a bet going on who will make the first move. It ended up being Raven after a frustrated day of trying to decouple a generator that Wick was recommending to be done differently. She took out her frustration by jumping him in the room. They started off as blowing off steam, but it gradually grew into a meaningful relationship. Wick's easy going gave Raven enough time to let herself open up to him.
Even good old Murphy found himself a partner in crime. One day during patrol, he found a thief sneaking into their settlement to steal their stored food. He caught her and found out her name was Emori and she was an outcast of the grounders because of her deformity. He decided to shelter her in a cave and provided food from the camp. His sneakiness didn't go unnoticed. Once he was caught by Bellamy, he told the truth which is new for him. His decision to trust Bellamy turned to be right, when Bellamy and Clarke accepted Emori into their group as one of them. Soon, Murphy became more open and friendly with everyone and Emori became his partner, both in activities and in life.
Arkadia maintained a healthy relationship with the thirteenth clan who kept their name Delinquents. Through them, the relationship with Polis and the other clans improved. Abby and Clarke had their regular scheduled mother daughter bonding every time Clarke and Bellamy visit. Bellamy and Kane shared information about both settlements. Jaha went in search of inner peace, now that his people were out of danger. He wanted to find a way to live without his son. Clarke was worried that Bellamy may take that as an insult, but it didn't faze Bellamy at all.
Octavia visited from the capital from time to time. She was flourishing as the ambassador at Polis and have become one of the trusted advisors for Lexa. Lincoln has been assigned as trainer for the security guards at the capital. They were living comfortably up there.
Bellamy hugged Clarke tightly as they both watched the sunset together. They take a moment for themselves between the chaos of managing their home and clan.
"I never thought we'd get this day." Clarke told Bellamy.
"Me neither. My life was all about protecting O. I never imagined anything more." Bellamy confessed.
"Are you disappointed?" Clarke teased.
"More like content." He said seriously. Clarke nodded and hugged him by his waist.
"Me too." She whispered.
A/N: That's it. Thank you for travelling this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed it. Hope I did justice to the characters we love.
Next stop, I plan to write a full fantasy story using these characters. I have the main plot mapped out. Just have to find the moment to write it. Words of encouragement and comments would be appreciated.